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Laurie Bates
Laurie Bates was the rival of Pete Beale and Arthur Fowler and love interest of Kathy Beale, who first arrived in Albert Square in September 1989 to rival Pete's already established fruit and veg stall. Upon arriving in the Square, Kathy found herself attracted to Laurie, although Laurie was initially interested in local hair salon owner Julie Cooper. Julie and Laurie dated briefly, but Laurie quickly realised he preferred Kathy and ended his relationship with Julie. Kathy and Laurie then began dating, but when Kathy began playing with Laurie's emotions, Laurie became confused and ultimately took a step back. When he worried that Kathy was losing interest in him, he bought her an expensive dress and jewellery. However, Kathy felt as though Laurie was trying to show her off and ended their relationship entirely. Laurie left Walford, feeling humiliated. One of Laurie's sisters, Shirley Bates, arrived in March 1990 to encourage Kathy to talk to Laurie. Kathy visited Laurie and the pair agreed they were not suited for each other. Biography 1989-1990: Market wars and relationships Laurie first arrived in Walford in September 1989 to take over a stall on the market which was formerly run by Cindy Williams' family. Few of the residents knew what Laurie would be selling on the stall when he first arrived, until he announced to Arthur and Pauline Fowler in October 1989 that he was also running a fruit and veg stall. When local resident Pete Beale, who already had a well established fruit and veg stall on the market, found out about Laurie's stall, he was deeply unimpressed. Laurie and Pete went into fierce competition with one another, although Laurie would often come out victorious. The pair's rivalry took an even bigger turn when Pete then learnt that Laurie was dating Kathy Beale, his ex-wife. However, he later accepted that he and Kathy were over and called a truce by the end of the year. Laurie's love life was also far from simple itself. He originally fancied hair salon owner Julie Cooper, and the pair briefly dated, but when Laurie realised his feelings for Kathy were greater than they were for for Julie, he ended things. He and Kathy then started dating; they took things slowly and faced barriers in the form of Ian Beale and Pete, who both initially disapproved of the relationship. In 1990, Kathy and Laurie decided to take their relationship to the next level by sleeping together. However, Kathy was still struggling to trust men following her rape ordeal in 1988, and as a result, she bailed out at the last minute. Laurie was embarrassed by the event and quickly left. He decided to give Kathy more space, but continued to buy her gifts and treat her. After a while, he felt as though Kathy was playing with his emotions, and when he worried that Kathy was losing interest in him, he bought her an expensive dress and jewellery. Kathy did not appreciate Laurie's kind gestures though, as she felt Laurie was trying to show her off. She ended their relationship entirely and Laurie left Walford, feeling humiliated. As he left in a taxi, he dropped his wallet, which contained a photograph of a woman who looked like Kathy. Kathy mistook the identity of the photograph as Laurie's deceased wife. Laurie's sister, Shirley Bates, showed up in Walford in March 1990 searching for Kathy. After finding Kathy, she advised her to visit Laurie and talk to her. Kathy visited Laurie at his house and Laurie corrected Kathy about the identity of the photograph. At the same time, the pair agreed that their relationship had not worked out and they were not right for each other. First and last lines "A nice apple please, mate." (First line, to Arthur Fowler) --- "Well, I'll say good luck, then." (Final line, to Kathy Beale) See also *Full list of appearances Category:EastEnders characters Category:1989 debuts Category:1990 departures Category:Market traders